FIRES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 494, 29 April 1909, Page 4

FIRES.

FUBNISHINQ PREMISES BURNT. , ■'. ' AT' PALMERSTON NORTH. •; (»X TE^ESOAriI—BPECIU COEBE^PONDEM.I Palmcrstori North, April 28. Shortly.before midnight last uigrit a firt broke out in tlio back portion of the-Mal-colm Furnishing Company's ': largo warehouso in the Square. Before the bell had ceased to sound thd alarm, the vivid glare of- flames told that they' had obtained a strong hold, and had already burst through the roof and windows. The scat of tna trouble was especially favourable to a fierce conflagration; Oloso at hand was iho'polishing; roqm, filled with highly inflammable varnishes, and the upholstering department, with its litter ;of materials to feed the firo, As wasitlip casein other recent oonilagra' tions SupvVriutjpndeiit. AYainor aw) his luejr onco inoi-opro'/ed themselves prompt and capable. Had tho fire onco got. a strong hold on tbo> building there would liavo been little chrnco of saving the surrounding promises. The ''Slandurd" office was filled with dense smoke, but the brick walls of the mcohanical and editorial 1 . departments undoubtedly stopped the progress ojh the weatorn side of tho burning building;' At tho rear of the eastern side there wore fortunately no buildings, and tho.'firemen wore thus able to get at tho flames' with a free hand. Tho front portion of tho "Standard" office— a wooden buildingr-had a very narrow escape, an examination thiß morning showing that the flames were stopped just as they were eating thoir wav through on tlur roof of tho front office.. ' Black ruin, complete and comprehensive, is the result of the conflagration. Tho work; shop, where tho firo originated, and whore the fiercest fight took place, was filled with a largo stock of cabiuctrmaking and up? bolstering requisites, while a number of newly-arrived, and unopened cases of chairs, mirrors, etc., were also piled up within. Tin's tnorning there is nothing'but ablackened pile of odds and ends of chairs, carppts, washs.ta.nds, and mirrors,' "all ruined' coni' plofoly. In tho large shop, also, the 600119 is almost as bad, Tho. flames made merry ■with the fancy carpc'fs and linoleums, 'and respected-neither orookcry (which has been tfansfprnio4 into rich brown gl»zo4 -'pats terns), ;nor .the .many, varieties'' of up\\o\stored and polished' furnjture \vh}ph, where ; Hp.t' ruined by flame, are. scorched lyithheat or covered thick, with a sticky, coating composed of stnpkp and, vfater. Eyon, in,the. upstairs portion over the front shop, where the flames did not reach, tlio heat and smoke have wrought min' in a; manner which would have.-, been, thought impossible by those inexperienced; in tho ways of firo ajid smoke, A coating of.'smoke duet (in some oases' nearly, a "quarter of an inch' thick) has settled on everything. A good deal of damage was prevented by tlio brigade piling up the furniture and throwing tarpaulin's oyer it, ! "but, though tho flames and water'were tlius kept off, tho smoke and heat crept under the protection, and left their incffaceahlo marks on everything,.- . '-.i...'-,. -..,... ■■;: .'..;','; ■■ ■' The brigadosmen were much perturbed during the fiercest part of the fight by the unsafe appearance of a large barrel standing in tho hottest part of the flames. Bad they known its contents they would pro", bably have been more apprehensive still, for it was half filled with methylated spirits. The miracle 'is that this combustible fluid went through the fire without' exploding, ; Had' an explosion' occurred, the back wajl of the building would almost certainly have been ; blown put, arid then there would, havo boon a very extensive blazo indeed. The stock'was insured for £1850—Now Zealand Office, £500; Norwich Union, £600; Standard, £500; and Alliance, £350. The building, which was owned bv Mr. T. Ohildsj'was insured in ; tfio Alliance Office for, £(50. .Mr. Malcolm estimates the value of his stock at oyer £4000, and tho whole of it is oithor completely mined or dam-" aged. . , ■''.■■

.; a store destroyed; (HI .TEtEGRArn—PRESS AfSOCUTIO't.I ; Clsborne, April 28. Mrs/. Raid's store' at' Tolaga J3«y was de« Btroyed by lirp. Nothing was saved. '• Tho pause,of the lire is uuknown. Tho insurances were £000 on tho stock in tho Nor. wioh Union olijce, and £250 on tho buildin/ In tho Livorpqol, London, and Globe. ■ -THE TIMARU FJRE, '. (BT TBLEOBAra—rriESS »ssqcuTio».l (p Tlmaru, Aprjl 28.' ,'Jihp insurances on Mr. HadcliuVa stooh wo;? £300, and £350 on the building. The loss is estiinatcd at £150 on tho building, nnil £100 on tbe stock. ....